What would happen if your DNA was hacked?

This is the question Upgrade explores in this mind-bending, fresh and sharp story. The perfect blend of upmarket sci-fi and gripping thriller, I was excited to read Upgrade after reading and absolutely loving Dark Matter. And this one didn’t disappoint.

The story follows Logan, who’s genome has been hacked—and the reason goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrible family legacy. As he becomes something more than human, he struggles with what really makes us human. Does humanity’s only hope lie in engineering its own evolution?

Flawless, surprising, exciting and ingenious, Upgrade explores the nature of what it means to be human in a time when science means that one day we could be something more. I highly recommend!

As a huge fan of Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter and Recursion, Upgrade was without a doubt my most anticipated book of 2022. I was definitely not disappointed.

This scientific thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout as Logan tries to save the world. The science is heavy, but as usual with Crouch’s books, I loved it! Upgrade deals with DNA and is kind of a Limitless meets Lucy whereby Logan gets injected with something that upgrades his brain and makes him pretty much the smartest being on the planet.

As usual in Crouch’s books, family is the key and Upgrade is no different. You really feel Logan’s love for his wife and daughter and the sacrifices he makes to keep them safe.

The epilogue was a great ending to the story and left me extremely satisfied with this book.

*Thanks so much to Del Rey and to NetGalley for the advance copy!*

I've read enough environmental fiction at this point that it's hard to be patient with the heavy handed, sermonizing, cheap shot ones such as this. It's a lot of telling rather than showing. This book is basically a lecture to care. The action wasn't fun to follow, the dialogue was bare, the characters flat.

Thanks netgalley and ballantine for a copy to read and review.

It's not hard to imagine a future when genetic engineering has caused a global disaster so that the science of genetic research is forbidden. Ramsey Logan works for the GPA to hunt down genetic science outlaws, but he is the victim of a lab explosion that has a far-reaching effect on him. After his initial recovery from the impact, he notices that all of his senses and his intelligence have become enhanced to a frightening degree, under circumstances that have terrifying implications for humanity. The subplot of Logan's relationships with his late mother and living sister add to the story's complexity and suspense.

If you aren't familiar with Blake Crouch you are certainly missing out. If you, then honestly this book is probably already on your list to read.

Logan Ramsey lives in the near future United States working for a government agency, the GPA, tasked with cracking down on genetic scientists after genetic modifications caused a massive global famine. His mother was the lead scientist behind that famine and so Logan has some heavy emotional baggage with regards to his family.

On a raid gone wrong, Logan is "upgraded" and becomes a superhuman. Who did this to him and why is the main plot of this book. Things are revealed quickly and in typical Crouch fashion, there's tons of action and information but the way it's delivered is all so well done and entertaining.

This book explores being part of a family, and being a human, and how to try and make a better future for all of humanity through genetic science. High 4.5 stars for this one.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

Opening lines: We found Henrik Soren at a wine bar in the international terminal, thirty minutes from boarding a hyperjet to Tokyo.

Before tonight, I had only seen him in INTERPOL photographs and CCTV footage. In the flesh, he was less impressive—five and a half feet in his artificially distressed Saint Laurent sneakers with a designer hoodie hiding most of his face. He was sitting at the end of the bar with a book and a bottle of Krug.
Reason I picked up the book: I read Recursion by Blake Crouch for my book club, and really enjoyed it.
And what's this book about?
“You are the next step in human evolution.”

At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.

But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.

The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.

Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost.

Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.

And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?

Intimate in scale yet epic in scope, Upgrade is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential.
Recommended for: Anyone who enjoys sci-fi or dystopian books, or books about gene editing.
Favorite paragraph: Scythe was the revolutionary, biological DNA modifier system—now extremely illegal—discovered and patented by my mother, Miriam Ramsay. It had been a seismic leap forward that left the previous generations of technologies—ZFNs, TALENs, CRISPR-Cas9—gasping in the dust. Scythe had ushered in a new era of gene editing and delivery, one that brought about catastrophic results. Which is why getting caught using or selling it for germline modification—the making of a new organism—came with a mandatory thirty-year prison sentence.
Something to know: I would love to see this book made into a movie—definitely would be very exciting, and I could probably come up with a dream cast if I thought about it, as well.
What I would have changed: Not sure I would have changed anything.
Overall rating: 4 stars out of 5.
Where can I find this book? Click here to pre-order on Amazon—it will be out on July 13, 2022.

If I could give this book ten stars, I would. I loved Dark Matter and Recursion, but Upgrade took my love of Blake Crouch's books to another level. I was glued to this book. I just love his writing style. I respect him for all of the scientific research that went into the development of this story. The science is interwoven in such a way that it doesn't feel like I'm reading about science. I stayed up late and got up early to read this book. Definitely a page turner and lots of suspense. I feel like I just got off of a rollercoaster ride. I said this about Crouch's other books and it applies to this one too...this would be an amazing movie!!! Special thanks to the publisher and author for a free copy of the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is not my usual genre, but something about the description really intrigued me. I really glad I picked this book up because I was wildly entertained. There was action and thrills with every chapter. Logan’s background influences so much of who he is and I think in a way he gets what he’s looking for in regards to living up to his mother’s legacy. I loved the plot because it really made me think and kept me on the edge of my seat. A great read! I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy

Crouch continues to write fast-paced, page-turning thrillers that feel as if you're reading a Hollywood blockbuster. Absolutely loved the plot and had no idea where it was going at each turn. Highly recommend!

If you are already a Crouch fan, this is a must-read. I'd place it slightly below Recursion in my estimation- but it brings up so many excellent (and topical) thoughts for our time. What does it mean to be human? How about superhuman? And do we have an obligation to improve ourselves, even at the level of DNA, to change the world? What are the after-effects of those choices?

These are not small or insignificant questions. I'm not sure Crouch answers them all, but this book certainly takes on the big questions with a rollicking story that is fun to read and well-written. Four and a half stars of contemplative and action-packed (at the same time) sci-fi.

Crouch’s new book, Upgrade, is a fast paced read that is exciting and easy to follow. The writing is very tight and the prose is written well. The dialogue is one of Crouch’s greatest strengths as it feels like characters are talking in an authentic way and not forced.

This is a great book to be able to pick up, read in a week or weekend, and feel a sense of quick enjoyment. I would say Dark Matter is still my favorite work I’ve read of his, but I have not yet read Recursion.

Unfortunately, for me as a reader this book was very easy to predict and did not have the same exciting, fun twists as Dark Matter. I drew many parallels between the two stories but found Upgrade was not executed in a way that left me satisfied and intrigued. I felt the characters were very one dimensional and there was not growth that I could see to root for or see that they were changing other than the ‘upgrades’ they got.

I felt the main point being made in the novel was told to me over and over so the maybe twist towards the end didn’t seem like much that contributed to the book.

Overall, for my reading preference this was about a 3 star read. It was a quick, one-time read. I could see it being a movie or mini-series. I wish Crouch would have focused more on the GPA the main character worked for and less on the plot that ended up going forward. This felt like a superhero or extra human ability story that was predictable and a bit played out in my opinion.

My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Just another fantastic book by Crouch, who has cemented his place as one of my favorite authors. Super smart and well-researched. I recommend his books to anyone who asks and this will be another one that I hope I can many customers to read.

Holy heckballs! That was some good storytelling!! Truth be told, I am not a sci-fi fan usually because it goes over my head and takes me out of my intelligence comfort zone. However, this was so well done and while it's still a bit above my understanding, the story was so well told and explained that I never once felt lost. I could just take it in and go with it. I sped through the pages. I held my breath. I twisted and turned. I really enjoyed it! That's the sign of a fantastic author - when they can take you outside your comfort zone and you thoroughly appreciate the trip!!

3 stars

My quick take review is that I think I would have enjoyed this much more without the vast amount of scientific jargon and DNA information. It was hard for me to get past, and I was honestly bored. I’m sorry. I have loved everything this author has written, and this isn’t in any way a slight on his writing or this book but more one reader’s takeaway.

I will still read future books by this author.

My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I always enjoy Blake Crouch’s books. He has a gift for taking science fiction and making it digestible for a larger audience with compelling plots. Dark Matter is my favorite of his, while Recursion is highly original and ambitious if a bit disjointed and overly long. I think he overcorrected with Upgrade and played it a little too safe. It honestly felt like I was watching a Marvel/superhero movie. Additionally, the epilogue undid some of the more interesting moral questions and themes. Entertaining but not the author’s best.

Logan Ramsay has spent a few years in jail, paying for a genetic blight caused by his genius mother that killed millions of people. Now he works for the GPA, an agency created to make sure geneticists don’t develop anything else . After an accident in a lab raid Logan begins to feel different, first sick and then hyper aware. Is this upgrade a good thing or bad? What Crouch does best is expose human failings and create a future that I could see actually happening.

Crouch does it again. Combing suspense and science, this fast-paced thriller shows how modifying genetic structure can affect evolution, deftly tango-ing the pros and cons throughout as the protagonist struggles with moral dilemma, and family. An easy handsell to many types of readers.

I was absolutely mesmerized by this book. Maybe it was because I've often thought about what might (or should that be will?) happen when DNA manipulation becomes a common occurrence. My strengths do not go in the direction of science so for a book such as this to completely satisfy my desire for science fiction it has to read as if it *might all just be true*. Never mind if every fact is a proven scientific fact because I'm aware that I'm reading fiction but make it as interesting as possible while exploring where the story is going. My first Blake Crouch and I picked a doozie!

Yes, the explanations of the changing of the DNA is extremely scientific sounding. Yes, it can be hard for some of us to muddle our way through those passages. Thankfully I was enjoying the story so much I didn't mind slowing down for the tough explanations. I'm reading fiction; I will survive reading through content that makes me wonder just how real some of this science is.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing, Ballantine Books for an e-galley of this novel.

So glad that I was selected to read this Netgalley!

Blake Couch is so creative and innovative in the stories he tells. It’s almost chilling how real they feel - like it could have in real life and he’s telling us to prepare ourselves.

In his latest book, Upgrade, we are dropped into a post traumatic United States after an attempt at gene mutation caused a global famine and killed A LOT of people.

I really enjoyed this read! It’s perfect for travel, rainy days, and when you need an extra adventure.

Blake Crouch does it again! I will never not read his books as he has become an "auto-buy" author for me after Recursion and Dark Matter. While I can't speak on the accuracy of any of the genetics mentioned, the field of gene editing I found immensely interesting and gene modification has already affected our environment and lives. I am very interested in aspects of the potential future in relation to genetic disease being able to edit genes in those who are already fully developed humans. Crough grapples with the ethics of gene editing and also our roles in the future of the human race and the planet as a whole.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!)